Westboro rallies past Leominster in final minutes

LEOMINSTER -- The experience needed to close out tight games comes with time, and Leominster's relative new varsity squad learned that lesson in a hard-fought defeat.

The Blue Devils boys' basketball team led by 11 points with five minutes left, but pesky Westboro held Leominster scoreless throughout the rest of the game, and hit its free throws down the stretch, as the Rangers pulled off a come-from-behind 61-57 victory at LHS on Friday night.

"I give Westboro a lot of credit, because I feel they didn't miss a free throw down the stretch, almost," Leominster head coach Kevin Grutchfield said. "All close games are going to be won by free throws. I'm proud of my team, they played hard and really got after it in the second half.

"We didn't score (late in the fourth quarter) and our lazy, stupid fouls ended up costing us, because they didn't miss a free throw. It's definitely a game we learn from."

The shots struggled to fall for Leominster, but with 18 seconds left in the third, the hosts' physicality started to take over, as James Purcell (11 points) split a free throw trip to make it a 49-46 Leominster lead headed into the fourth.

The Blue Devils would turn the points into a 9-0 run through the beginning of the fourth quarter. Emmanuel Dolce split a free throw trip to open the fourth, and then senior Anthony Dandini (18 points) muscled his way in for a put-back.

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After another split free throw trip, Purcell scored in the post, and then Givensky Pierre-Louis (14 points) scored on a second-chance opportunity in transition, making it 57-46 in favor of Leominster with five minutes left in regulation.

Westboro (6-2) shifted to a smaller lineup and began to apply pressure. Three Rangers went 5 of 6 from the line over the next two minutes, as the lead narrowed to 57-51.

Leominster (1-6) turned the ball over three times in the next three possessions, as A.J. Nowak (13 points) scored on a drive and Michael Doherty (12 points) hit free throws, after a foul in transition, that cut the deficit to 57-55 with 1:59 left.

The Blue Devils came up empty on the next trip down the floor, and then Westboro's Matthew Doherty (15 points) drove to the lane and got the basket to drop, while Leominster fouled him. Matthew Doherty would then sink the free throw to give the Rangers a 58-57 lead with 1:22 left.

After a Leominster air-ball, Westboro took over and evaded the foul until finally going to the line with just 14 seconds to go. Jake Hughes drilled the first free throw, making it 59-57. The second would be a miss, but Hughes alertly grabbed the rebound.

The Rangers then played hot potato, passing the ball until Leominster fouled with 6 seconds left. Hughes got back to the line, sinking both to ice the game at 61-57.

"We've had three wins by a point this year, so these kids are battle-tested," Westboro head coach Brian Willar said. "We were down, but not out, and knew some things needed to happen quickly, and we hit free throws down the stretch to seal it."

Leominster committed 21 turnovers in the game, which did not become a factor until the second half, particularly the fourth quarter. In the final eight minutes of the contest, Leominster coughed up the ball seven times.

Mainly through the big run to open the fourth, Leominster grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in the second half, making up for missed layups that proved costly in the long run.

The Blue Devils also shot 12 of 23 from the free throw line, another area in a close game that proved costly.

Leominster opened the game on an 8-1 run, and thanks to 3-point shooting from Logan Saranovitz and Dandini took a 16-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The fouls started piling up in the second quarter, and Westboro took advantage from the line, closing the gap to four just three minutes in, and then taking a 32-31 lead at the half, which marked the first lead of the game for the visitors.

Leominster opened the third quarter outscoring Westboro 15-7, which made it 46-39 Blue Devils with 1:56 left in the third. Westboro would close the gap to two before quarter's end, only to see Leominster respond with a big run.

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